By Steven Symes 
Carlos Tavares, the former CEO of Stellantis, is being blamed for the termination of the Hemi V8 for Dodge, Ram, and Jeep, among other poor decisions. Reportedly, Tavares showed little understanding of the North American market, blaming leadership here for mounting struggles.
The US government is giving Stellantis billions of dollars to build more EVs.
In fact, one executive said “everybody wanted to keep [the Hemi]” but Tavares insisted on killing the popular V8 engine “to be greener.” We noted back when it became obvious the Hemi was done the decision was obviously unnecessary since Ford is still using the Coyote V8 in the Mustang and F-150 lines.
These and other accusations were made by multiple executives, both current and former, anonymously in a report from CNBC. Tavares is characterized as arrogant, a know-it-all leader who had the attitude he alone had to fix major problems inside the automaker, problems others say were created by him.
For example, Tavares allegedly pushed for the Jeep Grand Cherokee to be simplified, also cutting engineering costs while simultaneously increasing the price of the popular SUV significantly. Shoppers haven’t responded well to those changes.
One former executive from Stellantis confirmed what we’ve always suspected, telling CNBC, “When Tavares started, he said the center of the company is somewhere in the Atlantic … but it became very clear to us that the center of the company was in France.”
After all, many of the moves made by Stellantis seemed more like those of a French automaker, especially when it comes to this market.
We don’t know if now that Tavares is out this means the Hemi V8 can or will be brought back. That would be great, but it’s just one step of many which need to be made by the automaker.
Ultimately, Stellantis has violated the trust not only of enthusiast over ending the Hemi V8, among other decisions regard the Dodge muscle cars, but has also alienated dealers, union workers, and many key stakeholders.
Image via Stellantis